-

 WHETHER CS MANAGEMENT TRAINEE CAN CLAIM  BENEFITS OF LABOUR LAWS?

Shubham Budhiraja[1]



Introduction

Trainee and apprentice is not the same thing. There may be a situation where a person styled as apprentice but performing work of a normal employee and such a case he is not apprentice but trainee. Trainee is per se not an apprentice. Trainee is not excluded from the definition of an employee rather what excluded is apprentice.  Therefore the principal question is the claim of a CS management trainee who is appointed as apprentice as per contract in a firm. Can he claim the benefits of Labour laws?

Whether apprentice includes trainee?

In the Concise Oxford Dictionary the word "apprentice" means, "a person learning a trade from a skilled employer". In Black's Law Dictionary the word "apprentice" means, "a person bound by an indenture to work for an employer for a specific period to learn a craft, trade or profession and a learner in any field of employment or business." As per P. Ramanatha Aiyar's Law of Lexicons the word "apprentice" means, "a learner is one who is taken to learn a trade, a person under a contract of apprenticeship, to a master to learn from him his trade or business and to serve him during his time of the

Apprenticeship

 

Correspondingly, as per Concise Oxford Dictionary the word "trainee" means, "a person undergoing training for a particular job or profession". As per P. Ramanatha Aiyars Law of Lexicons, the word "training" means "systematic instruction". From the above expression from various dictionaries, it is seen that both the words "apprentice" and "trainee" are not either similar, identical or same as both the words have been distinctly defined with reference to the nature of job. As referred to in Black's Law Dictionary, "apprentice" means, "a person must be either a learner in any field of employment or business or a person was bound by indenture to work for an employer for specific period to learn a craft, trade or profession".

 

In Chairmancum- Managing Director, Orissa Mining Corpn. Ltd

 

 “... A trainee employed under a contract of employment is not an apprentice, under the Apprentices Act, unless he is undergoing apprenticeship training in a designated trade in pursuance of a contract of apprenticeship...”

 

Illustration

It absence of a definition of term trainee, the meaning of term trainee would depend upon context, object of the act and definition of trainee in any other act. Apprentice means “person learning trade from a skilled employer” Trainee means “person undergoing training for a particular job or profession” The nature of duties performed by apprentice and trainee are not similar or identical.  Mere nomenclature of Job is irrelevant and what has to see is the nature of duties to be performed.

Where Mr. X appointed as CS trainee but enter into apprentice agreement with the Firm. However the nature of duty assigned to him are as follows:

1.       He is working for same hours as like of the normal employee

2.       He is getting reimbursed for his expenses like a normal employee

3.       He is having same holidays like a normal employee

4.       He is subject to same rules, notices, responsibilities, consequences as that of a normal employee. Example, getting a stipend deduction on a leave.

In such a case it cannot be said that Mr. X is any manner appointed to learn a trade alone rather he is performing alike duties of a normal employee. Thus, he is more than mere apprentice and less than normal employee. I.e. trainee.

Conclusion

The labor laws are welfare legislation and therefore the rules of Interpretation require it to adopt the Interpretation which furthers the objectives of it and not bar it.  Trainees give various duties during the course of the so called training and who is not deputed in a particular designated trade cannot be called as an apprentice or learner. The nomenclature of the post is not of much consequence while interpreting the beneficial provisions of the welfare statute. However, designating an employee as trainee, extracting regular work from him and then denying him the benefit of Labour laws under the pretext of such employee being a trainee would certainly defeat the object of the welfare statute.

This article is meant only for academic purpose and should not be construed as a professional or legal advice. The author reserve all rights against creation of this work and any breach to the author’s right might invite appropriate actions in accordance to law in force in India.


[1] Associate company secretary and final year law student from faculty of law, University of Delhi

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

REPUGANCY UNDER ARTICLE 254 & TEST OF VALIDATING LAW

-
Image
  Shubham Budhiraja [1] [1] Company Secretary, LLB Final Year,DU & Bcom (H) The land acquisition falls in concurrent list and parliament in year 2013 has introduced a new act which provides for rehabilitation, compensation and procedure on land acquisition of property. The State of T.N has made 3 different state laws w.r.t. land acquisition which was struck off by the High Court. Thereafter, state of TN in year 2019 enacted the same law but with president assent under Article 254 to avoid the repugnancy with 2013 act under Article 254. The appeal filed before apex court w.r.t. repugnancy of 2019 state law with 2013 central law & test of validating the struck off law. The Supreme Court observed as: VALIDATING A LAW WITH RETROSPECTIVE EFFECT Case Law Relevant Remarks National  Agricultural  Cooperative  Marketing  Federation  of India Ltd. & Anr. vs. Union o...
Read more

Whether a person can be appointed as an arbitrator if his daughter is married to the son of the eldest brother of one of the parties in the arbitration proceedings?

-
Image
    Shubham Budhiraja [1] Two brothers running a family business in the form of a company and dispute arise between them and both decide to resolve through arbitration. During course of arbitration proceedings, one of party filed Section 14(2) r/w Section 15 Petition filed challenging mandate of arbitrator as being terminated because son of arbitrator is married to daughter of eldest brother of one of party and thus should be disqualified under Section 12(5) being ‘close family relationship’. The Hon’ble Delhi High Court declined the relief and held that neither the Seventh Schedule of the A&C Act nor the IBA Guidelines define the expression ‘close family relationship’. The plain language of Entry no. 9 indicates that it is not the legislative intent to render a distant relative of the parties to be ineligible for being appointed as an arbitrator, if both the parties so agree. It is not sufficient that the arbitrator is related to any one of the parties; the relation...
Read more

Whether unstamped agreement to sell executed in the year 1988 can be relied upon in suit for possession?

-
Image
  Whether unstamped agreement to sell executed in the year 1988 can be relied upon in suit for possession?   Under what circumstances, photocopy of agreement to sell can be relied upon as secondary evidence?   Shubham Budhiraja [1]   A filed a suit for possession against B on basis of agreement to sell executed in the year 1989. During the hearing, A filed IA for reading photocopy of agreement to sell as secondary evidence because he is not able to find the original agreement to sell. The Trial Court allowed the IA but in review rejected that because agreement to sell was insufficiently stamped therefore bar of section 35 of stamp act applies. The High Court confirmed the order. The Hon’ble Supreme Court held that bar of Section 35 will not apply because amendment of 1990 wherein explanation was added to the stamp act was substantive in nature and therefore new obligation of stamping cannot be imposed on agreement of sell executed between A and B. [2] ...
Read more